ZODL, together with Tachyon, Valar Group, Zcash Foundation, and Shielded Labs, has proposed a Zcash network upgrade that will introduce the new Ironwood shielded pool. Activation is scheduled for late July 2026, following the end of zcashd support at block height 3,417,100. The timeline remains subject to testing, code review, and coordination across the ecosystem.
How Ironwood Works
The new pool is built on the existing Orchard protocol but adds formal verification and additional independent audits. Funds will move from Orchard to Ironwood through a turnstile mechanism that rejects any attempt to withdraw more ZEC than was deposited into it.
This mechanism allows users to verify the total number of coins in circulation without waiting for all users to complete the migration.
The existing Orchard pool will be closed to new deposits and internal transactions. Funds held in Orchard will have only one path forward: migration through the turnstile into Ironwood.
Additional audits and formal verification are designed to prevent similar reliability issues from recurring.
At present, sending and receiving funds through Orchard continues to operate normally. After the upgrade, wallets that support Orchard will offer a one-click migration option. The new pool uses the existing Orchard receiver, meaning previously used addresses will continue to work.
Network Status
The recently identified Orchard reliability issue was discovered during security research, disclosed according to established procedures, and resolved through a coordinated network update.
According to the developers, there is no evidence that the issue was exploited, no impact on user funds was detected, and no changes to the total ZEC supply were observed. The privacy of funds held in shielded pools was not affected, and Orchard continues to operate normally.
ZODL's Contribution
The team is already carrying out part of the migration effort. It is completing the work required to move away from zcashd, including the launch of the Zallet command-line wallet, which will replace the wallet functionality embedded in zcashd.
At the same time, Valar Group is developing a wrapper that will allow users to continue using their wallets until the migration to Zallet is complete.
ZODL is also participating in the formal verification of the new pool, helping the Zcash Foundation roll out zebrad to node operators currently running zcashd, updating its wallet and SDK for Ironwood compatibility, and coordinating readiness across infrastructure providers and wallet services.
In addition, the team is developing new tools for Zcash users.